A ridiculous good heavy metal band formed in 2003 hailing from Austin Texas. They remind me of why I love metal in the first place. Their sound is a throwback to old school metal acts like Black Sabbath. While not the most technical band out there(there riffs kick ass though), but god damn are their songs catchy. Everyone of their songs are equally as amazing, and none of them feel like filler at all. Their lyrics mostly center on Norse and other mythological stories.

No overly wanky guitar solos, no constant double bass, no stupid cookie monster growling vocals. Just pure, raw, old-school heavy metal. The Sword is what metal is all about and are the best modern metal band within a decade.

Current albums:
Age of Winters - 2006
Gods of the Earth - 2008

All their songs are available on their myspace or youtube pages, so just type in The Sword to hear them all.(I'm not allowed to post links).

I will never forgive myself for missing them at the Metallica concert back in January